DETECTING PATTERNS IN OBJECT-ORIENTED SOURCE CODE – A CASE STUDY

Andreas Wierda, Eric Dortmans, Lou Somers

2007

Abstract

Pattern detection methods discover recurring solutions in a system’s implementation, for example design patterns in object-oriented source code. Usually this is done with a pattern library. This has the disadvantage that the precise implementation of the patterns must be known in advance. The method used in our case study does not have this disadvantage. It uses a mathematical technique called Formal Concept Analysis and is applied to find structural patterns in two subsystems of a printer controller. The case study shows that it is possible to detect frequently used structural design constructs without upfront knowledge. However, even the detection of relatively simple patterns in relatively small pieces of software takes a lot of computing time. Since this is due to the complexity of the applied algorithms, applying the method to large software systems like the complete controller is not practical. They can be applied to its subsystems though, which are about five to ten percent of its size.

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Paper Citation


in Harvard Style

Wierda A., Dortmans E. and Somers L. (2007). DETECTING PATTERNS IN OBJECT-ORIENTED SOURCE CODE – A CASE STUDY . In Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Software and Data Technologies - Volume 2: ICSOFT, ISBN 978-989-8111-06-7, pages 13-24. DOI: 10.5220/0001332300130024


in Bibtex Style

@conference{icsoft07,
author={Andreas Wierda and Eric Dortmans and Lou Somers},
title={DETECTING PATTERNS IN OBJECT-ORIENTED SOURCE CODE – A CASE STUDY},
booktitle={Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Software and Data Technologies - Volume 2: ICSOFT,},
year={2007},
pages={13-24},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0001332300130024},
isbn={978-989-8111-06-7},
}


in EndNote Style

TY - CONF
JO - Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Software and Data Technologies - Volume 2: ICSOFT,
TI - DETECTING PATTERNS IN OBJECT-ORIENTED SOURCE CODE – A CASE STUDY
SN - 978-989-8111-06-7
AU - Wierda A.
AU - Dortmans E.
AU - Somers L.
PY - 2007
SP - 13
EP - 24
DO - 10.5220/0001332300130024